Thursday July 5, 2018

Thursday April 7, 2016

Last month, scientists from all parts of the Mediterranean Sea gathered at the 18th session of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the regional body responsible for fisheries management in the Mediterranean Sea. The event once again centred on the bleak situation of Mediterranean fishing resources, in which 97% of stocks assessed are overfished and/or not sustainably exploited.

Thursday March 10, 2016

What was initially conceived as a unifying initiative to protect threatened species in the Baltic Sea and Kattegat has quickly evolved into one country’s crusade to prevent marine protection in the region.

Wednesday February 24, 2016

At 750 the number of recorded multicellular non indigenous species (NIS) in the Mediterranean Sea is far higher than in other European Seas: nearly triple the number of records known from the western European coastline from Norway to Portugal, and between 1970 and 2015, the number has grown by 215%. Of these, 450 were introduced through the Suez Canal, the balance are mostly ship and culture-introductions.

Wednesday February 17, 2016

Anything can happen underwater, and even gardens are not necessarily composed of plants. In fact, one of the most beautiful habitats in the Mediterranean are coralligenous gardens, where trees are replaced by soft corals (gorgonians) and flowers give way to calcareous red algae and animals such as sponges and bryozoans. These wondrous places support a high biodiversity, and steps are now being taken to better protect them.

Tuesday February 16, 2016

Stately kelp forests and rainbow-colored coral reefs are known for the amazing amount of life that calls these habitats home. But don’t count out the muddy seafloor, especially if it harbors a tiny crustacean called a haploops. These animals, related to the sandhoppers often found on beaches, build small mud tunnel homes that litter the ocean floor.